Binghamton Mayor Jared Kraham and HCR’s Kate Van Tassel sit down with Renewing New York to unpack Governor Hochul’s Pro Housing Communities Initiative — a first-of-its-kind program rewarding NY municipalities for tackling the housing crisis.

Binghamton, NY became one of the first 20 certified pro-housing cities, cut permit approval times to 60 days, ditched parking mandates for affordable and senior housing, and turned vacant lots and brownfields into 250+ new housing units.

From zoning reform to workforce housing to why “housing is dignity,” this episode breaks down what it really takes to build more homes New Yorkers can afford.

Housing discrimination comes in many forms - some that New Yorkers might not know about. On this episode of Renewing New York, host Lauren Stanforth sits down with Nadya Salcedo, Director of HCR’s Fair and Equitable Housing Office (FEHO), and Jennai Gaskin, FEHO Deputy Director, to break down what fair housing protections cover in New York State — from the well-known categories like race and disability to lesser-known ones like lawful source of income, immigration status, and domestic violence survivor status.

They dig into tactics like “ghosting” and “frosting,” steering, discriminatory ads, and mortgage discrimination — plus what HCR’s office does behind the scenes: reviewing fair housing marketing plans, funding local testing organizations, and pushing accessibility standards beyond the legal minimum on every project the agency finances.

Also covered: HCR’s new statewide Housing Search NY platform, the Housing Choice Voucher mobility program, and the agency’s upcoming Five-Year Fair Housing Assessment. Think you’ve experienced housing discrimination? File a complaint with the NYS Division of Human Rights or your local Human Rights Commission.

🔗 Search affordable housing: HousingSearchNY.gov 🔗 Learn more about FEHO: Fair and Equitable Housing Office | Homes and Community Renewal.

On this episode of Renewing New York, host Lauren Stanforth sits down with Lenny Skrill, HCR’s Upstate West Director of Development, and Anne McCaffrey, President & CEO of People Inc., to talk about the nearly 12,000 affordable homes created or preserved across Western New York under Governor Hochul.

From the redevelopment of Folwell Apartments on the old Children’s Hospital campus to a new 93-unit community in Williamsville, hear how HCR and its partners are turning underused buildings into safe, stable homes — and how faith-based partners across Buffalo’s East Side have become key players in getting projects built.